Temptation

Old Zhou was unwilling to move. "What is the purpose of creating that small basket?" It's neither for eating nor drinking.

"It can be made into a flower basket to earn money," Man Bao told her father about her plan, omitting the matter of sugar. She confidently said, "When I earn money, I can give you some hard-earned money."

Old Zhou touched the tobacco pouch on his waist, reluctant to smoke. He had already decided to sell all the tobacco at home. Although it was not worth much, it could still buy a few doses of medicine for his wife.

Old Zhou looked at his daughter and shook his head, "I don't care for that hard-earned money, so let's not do it."

He didn't want to fool around with a group of children.

The disappointment was evident on everyone's faces. Man Bao went to her mother for support. Mrs. Qian couldn't resist Man Bao's coaxing and could only say to Old Zhou, "It's not a big deal." "You're idle anyway, just make a few for the children." "It's not that difficult."

With his wife speaking, and his daughter and a group of grandchildren looking on eagerly, Old Zhou had no choice but to drag out some discarded bamboo strips from the shack to make bamboo baskets for them.

Seeing his eldest and second sons squatting down to watch, he brought them over and said, "Come, let grandpa teach you." You're not too young to learn a skill.

There were not many people in the village who could weave bamboo, but it was not particularly scarce either. However, mastering this skill was not easy. In the entire village, only Zhou Erlang was able to sell bamboo weaves at the market or in the county town.

The bamboo baskets he made were strong and dense, not allowing the wheat to escape. Some people crafted bamboo baskets that were aesthetically pleasing. After a few uses, the bamboo strips would warp, and holes would develop, rendering the baskets unusable.

Old Zhou's skill belonged to the latter.

However, he couldn't make large bamboo baskets, so why couldn't he make a small bamboo basket the size of his daughter's head?

It was just for show. It could hold ten eggs, and Old Zhou felt that it could last for ten years without breaking.

Since he didn't care about these things and used discarded bamboo strips, he didn't mind letting his grandchildren join in.

Man Bao was eager to learn, so she took some bamboo strips to study. She also brought her older and younger sisters along.

Old Zhou looked at his two granddaughters and thought that this skill should not be learned by girls. After observing the bamboo strips on the ground, he thought, "Let them learn." Once the bamboo strips were used, they would be difficult to reuse. He was not like his second son, who couldn't bend them back.

After using the bamboo strips, there was no need to weave any further.

Man Bao didn't know her father's plan, and she watched him with great interest. She asked, "Dad, can I learn this?"

Old Zhou slowly weaved and said to her, "You little child, the bamboo strips can't be bent." What are you doing here? Be careful not to hurt your hands.

Mrs. Qian sat on a stool in the sun, smiled, and waved to Man Bao, "Come here, let mother teach you."

Man Bao ran over happily with the bamboo strips in her arms and asked, "Mom, can you weave bamboo as well?"

"I've been watching for a lifetime." Even if I haven't done it, I have an idea," Mrs. Qian was sick and couldn't do heavy work, but bending bamboo strips like this was no problem.

She sat there, weaving and explaining to Man Bao. This type of small bamboo weaving was not difficult, and the process was very fast. Mrs. Qian's first finished product was completed quickly.

Man Bao took it and compared it with the two that her father had already made, wrinkling her little nose and saying, "Mom, yours looks so ugly."

Old Zhou laughed proudly, "Your dad has woven many bamboo baskets, so of course they look better than your mom's."

Mrs. Qian was not discouraged and waved to Man Bao, "Bring a few more strips, and I'll weave another one."

She smiled and said, "Practice makes perfect." If you don't know something, practice it a few more times.

Upon realizing the wisdom in her mother's words, Man Bao decided to bring more bamboo strips to her.

She had initially moved from her grandfather's side to her grandmother's side to learn, but she found her grandmother's weaving to be unattractive. She had just moved back to her grandfather's side when the four children looked left and right, unsure of whom to learn from.

Man Bao was annoyed with them, "You can't be so indecisive." Forget it, Big Head and Second Head; you can learn from Dad, while Big Ya and Second Ya can learn from Mom.

The four children finally settled down and stopped moving back and forth.

Mrs. Qian smiled, thinking that her daughter was decisive.

Man Bao appeared to be the most idle person in the room, at least on the surface. In fact, she was very busy. As soon as the bamboo basket was made, Man Bao took it and discussed with Keke, "Do you think my mom's bamboo basket is presentable?"

The system said, "There is nothing in this world that cannot be turned into a commodity." You can engage in some secondary processing.

Man Bao said, "Then I'll put the most beautiful flowers on it."

Man Bao began picking the most beautiful flowers from the pile and inserting them into her mother's flower basket, creating a colorful mix. She liked the look of it and said happily, "This flower basket looks beautiful at first glance."

Keke remained silent for a while before saying, "There are probably not many people in this world with the same aesthetic as the host."

Man Bao repeated the sentence and then realized belatedly, "Keke, are you saying my flower basket is ugly?"

"The flower basket should not look like that," the system couldn't help but search for some pictures in the encyclopedia and threw them to Man Bao, saying, "This is what a flower basket should look like." You have a bamboo trash can for flowers. It's a failed trash can.

Man Bao couldn't hear what Keke was saying anymore. She stared at the pictures with wide eyes and almost rolled on the ground with joy. "So beautiful, so beautiful, Keke, can you give it to me?"

Old Zhou and Mrs. Qian saw their daughter laughing as she struggled with her broken bamboo basket, almost drooling.

The couple fell silent for a moment, then looked at the messy flowers she had inserted into the bamboo basket. They felt the need to pay attention to their child's sense of beauty. How could she be so happy with such an ugly bamboo basket?

The four children lowered their heads, wishing they could bury themselves in the bamboo strips. Their young aunt must be contemplating their money-making plan again, but could such an unattractive bamboo basket really be sold?

The system checked Man Bao's points and informed him, "Host, you have accumulated enough points to purchase a bamboo basket, but you have not yet obtained the necessary permission to access the store, so I am unable to make the purchase for you."

Man Bao heard about the store for the first time and asked, "What is the store?"

"It's similar to your market." You can buy all kinds of items there, including flower baskets.

"When can I open the store?" Man Bao thought that if she could open the store, she could go shopping at the market whenever she wanted.

"When the host's accumulated points reach one thousand and there are no outstanding debts," the system replied.

Man Bao slumped her shoulders and tried to bargain like her second brother, "That's a lot. Can't it be cheaper?"

Keke ruthlessly refused her, "No!"